Listen: Makaya McCraven – ‘What a Life’, ‘Prime’, ‘News Feed’, ‘Sweet Stuff’

Makaya McCraven releases four new singles today, one from each of his four upcoming EPs – Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop – released on all music platforms October 31st. Today’s four singles – ‘What a Life,’ ‘Prime,’ ‘News Feed,’ and ‘Sweet Stuff’ – and subsequent EPs are all compiled on a 2xLP and 2xCD physical release titled Off the Record, which is available for preorder now and in stores October 17th.

The four forthcoming EPs mark McCraven’s first recorded offerings since 2022’s In These Times and a return to the signature “organic beat music” approach that Makaya first debuted on his 2015 album In The Moment and further developed on Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), and Universal Beings (2018). Built from live recordings, McCraven reshapes the music via extensive editing, overdubs, and post-production at his home studio in Chicago.

The source material from each of McCraven’s new EPs is also drawn from moments of pure improvisation that were recorded live in performance, and shaped as much by the room and audience as by the musicians themselves.

Techno Logic features Ben LaMar Gay and Theon Cross, and draws from performances in London (2017), Berlin (2024), and New York (2025), showcasing nearly eight years of developing rapport between the three musicians.

Today’s new single from the forthcoming Techno Logic, ‘Prime,’ is a piece McCraven edited from his first time playing with Cross and Gay at Worldwide FM’s former North London studio in 2017. Cross’s hulking tuba basslines bolster Gay’s funky cornet leads, with McCraven augmenting his original drumkit performance with keyboards overdubbed at his home studio in 2024.

The People’s Mixtape has its foundation in a live recording from Brooklyn’s Public Records in January of 2025, where McCraven celebrated the ten-year anniversary of In The Moment with an intentional return to the improvisational language he developed during that album’s sessions. For the occasion, McCraven played with bassist Junius Paul and trumpeter Marquis Hill, both of whom are majorly present on In The Moment; as well as vibraphonist Joel Ross, a regular collaborator of McCraven’s since the 2017 sessions for Universal Beings; and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, the SML co-leader and International Anthem labelmate, playing with McCraven for the first time.

The new single from The People’s Mixtape, ‘What a Life,’ sounds more like a lost RZA beat from the late ‘90s than a piece of music edited from live improvisation. Chiu’s synthesised soundwaves in reverse spread across the stereo spectrum while Hill’s ghostly, heavily reverberated long trumpet tones cry out in the darkness over Paul and McCraven’s minimal boom bap rhythm, setting a perfect stage for an extended vibraphone solo by Ross.

Hidden Out! is built off recordings from McCraven’s June 2017 residency at The Hideout in Chicago, where he improvised weekly with a revolving cast including bassist Junius Paul; Tortoise member, International Anthem labelmate, composer, and guitarist Jeff Parker; and SML co-leader, GRAMMY-award winning producer, and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson.

‘News Feed,’ is essentially an extended Junius Paul bass solo over odd-meter drumming, with vibraphone and guitar comps added by McCraven in post.

PopUp Shop was created from recordings of McCraven’s Los Angeles debut at Del Monte Speakeasy in 2015, where he took part in the King Hippo and Grown Kids Radio produced event RAWS:LA, and improvised with guitarist Jeff Parker, vibraphonist Justefan, and bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd.

Today’s single ‘Sweet Stuff,’ is from the final movement of McCraven and the quartet’s improvised performance at Del Monte, peaking in a beautiful guitar solo from Parker.

The Off The Record vinyl LP and CD compilation is not just a collection of these four EPs, but a tactile document celebrating creative, communal, IRL moments of musical gathering.

Listen to the singles and pre-order Off the Record here.